Sharon Kay Penman's Blog, page 6

A Welsh prince and a young king, utterly unlike, but both doomed

I couldn’t find anything of interest in medieval history today—well, maybe a book being published about the Kingdom of Jerusalem? It is a great relief that it has finally seen the light of day, and in just two more days, it will be published in the UK, on what is also Henry II’s birthday. Henry never appears in the new book, but they talk about him a lot since he was King Amalric’s nephew and he was also sending large sums of money to Outremer as part of his penance for Thomas Becket’s murder.
Meanwhile, going back a few days, here are some thoughts on March 1st.
On March 1, 1244, Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, eldest son of Llywelyn Fawr, died in an escape attempt from the Tower of London. He was being held prisoner by the English king, Henry III, and although he was kept in comfortable confinement, it was still confinement, and, always a bold, impulsive man, he tried to climb down from the upper story of the White Tower on knotted sheets. An English chronicler laconically noted that he was a big man and had grown heavy in captivity and the sheets broke, hurling him to a gruesome death; I will spare you all the gory details in case some of you are reading this while having breakfast. Ironically, he died on the feast day of the patron saint of Wales, St Dayvdd

More good news

Here is the other good news for readers who are interested in my event at the Poisoned Pen on March 29th, but who cannot attend. Here is the link to Poisoned Pen’s Livestream. Be forewarned, though, when you visit, for you’ll find many tempting interviews with other writers, and before you know it, two hours have passed; that’s what happened to me this afternoon. And they archive interviews; I’ve also included the link to my interview for A King’s Ransom in 2014. Poisoned Pen rocks!

https://livestream.com/poisonedpen
https://livestream.com/accounts/14743...

Good News Again

I have more good news about my books, sadly, none about the world at large, where we are dealing with the corona-virus and savage storms and flooding.
I was able to find out when Time and Chance and Devil’s Brood will be published: May 19th for Time and Chance and June 12th for Devil’s Brood. And in response to one of my Canadian reader’s query, I am in the process of verifying that they can be bought as audio books in Canada, but it seems very likely; I checked and Canadian readers can buy the audio book editions for Saints, Lionheart, and A King’s Ransom. I also have good news about my Poisoned Pen reading and will post about that later today.

A great book bargain and a scene from Sunne

I wanted to share a wonderful book bargain with you all. Sue Monk Kidd’s classic novel, The Secret Life of Bees, can be bought for now in the ebook format for only $1.99; this applies to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple Store, Google, and Kobo. I was alerted to this by BookBub, which really is a great way to find books on sale.
Thank you all again for the feedback about my event at the Poisoned Pen. I still plan to come back and respond to individual posts, was temporarily sidetracked by Holly’s surgery and by a few writerly things that I had to do ASAP. I will be back, though! Meanwhile, Holly is much better and here is my Today in History Post.
On February 26, 1461, Edward of York and the Earl of Warwick were given a tumultuous welcome into the city of London, the citizens having refused entry to Marguerite d’Anjou. This was one of my favorite scenes in Sunne, so here are a few passages:
Sunne in Splendour, pages 83 & 84
* * * * *
It seemed as if every church bell in London was pealing. Seeing the smoke spiraling into the sky from a dozen different directions, knowing that meant the jubilant Londoners were burning bonfires in the streets as if this were the June Feast Day of St John the Baptist, Cecily breathed a brief prayer that God might mercifully spare the city from fire this noon, for there was no way the fire bells could ever be heard or heeded.
The volume of noise was increasing; she’d not have thought it possible. The shouts were audible now, shouts of “York!” and “Warwick!” But, overriding all, one name again and again, a hoarse chant that sent shivers of emotion up Cecily’s spine…Edward! Edward! Until the entire city echoed with the sound, with the name of her son.
(omission)
As another outburst of cheering rocked the churchyard, eclipsing all that had gone before, she knew even as she straightened up that her son had ridden through the gateway.
He was astride a magnificent white stallion with a silvery tail that trailed almost to the ground and he seemed to be enveloped in light, with the sun directly over his head, gilding his armour and tawny hair.
“Oh, Ma Mere!” Margaret gasped, in a voice that was strangely uncertain, unexpectedly awed. “He does look like a king!”
“Yes, he does,” Cecily said softly, forgetting that she had to shout to make herself heard. “He does, indeed.”
(omission)
Cecily clutched at her composure, smiled at her son. “Never have I seen such a welcome, Edward…never in my lifetime!”
“Welcome, Ma Mere?” he echoed and kissed her lightly on both cheeks so that his voice reached her ear alone. “I rather thought it to be a coronation.”
For a moment, their eyes held. And then Cecily nodded slowly and Edward turned back to face the crowds thronging the churchyard, raising his hand in careless salute of the continuing cheers. She watched, the faintest of smiles curving the corners of her mouth.
* * * * *

Good news about Time and Chance and Devil's Brood

I have good news for readers who love audio books. Two more of mine have broken through the barrier—Time and Chance and Devil’s Brood. Since Saints and Lionheart and Ransom are already available in the audio book format, now all in the Angevin series are covered.

Holly is home, rather subdued, which is not surprising. It is also an effective way to stir up owner guilt, which—as all of us with pets know—never really sleeps. She’ll be getting antibiotics and lots of pampering for the rest of the week.

Thank you all for the interesting and helpful feedback about my event at the Poisoned Pen. As I posted earlier today, it will be held on Sunday, March 29th at 2 PM, and there will be a podcast and video. I’ve always loved doing book tours, but the ones I did for Lionheart and Ransom were especially memorable, for they occurred after I’d joined Facebook and I was able to meet Facebook friends from all over the country. So I am really looking forward to the Scottsdale reading.

My reading for The Land Beyond the Sea at the Poisoned Pen

Thank you all for responding to my query about a weekend vs weeknight event at the Poisoned Pen. The consensus seems overwhelmingly in favor of the weekend, so we will be holding it on Sunday, March 29th at 2 PM. I am sorry we have to disappoint anyone, but this date seems to work best for most. They will be doing a podcast and videotaping the event, too. The Poisoned Pen knows how to throw a party!
Below is a link to the Poisoned Pen, so those who cannot attend can still get a signed copy of The Land Beyond the Sea. I will be back later to respond personally to individual posts about this. Now I have to get ready to fetch Holly (my spaniel) home from the vet; the poor little girl had minor surgery today and I admit I was nervous, as I always am when one of my dogs has to undergo anesthesia. All went well, though. Guess who gets spoiled rotten today?
https://store.poisonedpen.com/?q=h.ts...

Poisoned Pen reading for The Land Beyond the Sea

Some of you expressed disappointment that Putnam’s is not sending me out on a book tour for The Land Beyond the Sea; I was disappointed, too, for I love getting to meet my Facebook friends on these tours. But this is apparently the wave of the future since publishers no longer consider most book tours to be cost-effective. So I am very happy to report that I will be doing one event after all, and at my all-time favorite bookstore, the Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale, Arizona. They invited me and I took all of three seconds to accept! We are considering two dates and they suggested I ask you all for feedback. Would you prefer to attend a book signing and talk on a weekend or on a weeknight? Which would be more convenient for you? The first date is Tuesday, March 24th in the early evening at 7 PM and the other date is Sunday, March 29th in the afternoon at 2 PM. Even if you could not even consider a visit to Scottsdale, I’d still like to hear your opinions. We don’t censor on the basis of geography. 😊

A belated look at February 13th and why it mattered so much to two queens

I suppose I could explain away my absence by claiming I was trapped in a tower by a hungry dragon, but the truth is far more mundane—I am bogged down doing my income taxes. I’d almost prefer the dragon. The news from the UK continues to be troubling, with more flooding today in Wales and parts of Yorkshire; I don’t think the water has yet receded in those villages and towns in Herefordshire and Shropshire that were hit with awful flooding last weekend. But here is a flicker of light in the darkness, a heartwarming article about how ordinary people are stepping up to help their beleaguered countrymen. Below that is one of my Today in History Posts, albeit a late one.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-h...
On February 13, 1177, Henry and Eleanor’s youngest daughter, Joanna, was wed in Palermo to William, the King of Sicily and then crowned as his consort. She was all of eleven years old. It is hard for us to imagine sending children off to foreign lands to marry strangers at such young ages, but this was the way of life for the highborn in the MA. Surely some parents must have felt some qualms, though, for the safety or wellbeing of their daughters. Some of these marriages were happy ones; Joanna’s older sister Leonora came to love her husband, the King of Castile. Some were not as successful and some brought only misery to the young brides; surely the worst case was that of Agnes, daughter of Louis VII of France, sent off to wed the son of the Byzantine emperor at age eight; her young husband would be murdered and she would be forced to wed his killer, a man whose reign was so brutal that the citizens of Constantinople rose up against him and he fled the city with his favorite concubine and his little French bride. He was later captured and died rather gruesomely, but Agnes was spared.
Joanna encountered no such horrors in Sicily and was well treated by her husband, although he did keep a harem of Saracen slave girls. She would be widowed young, imprisoned by the man who usurped her husband’s throne, and then rescued by her brother Richard and accompanied him on crusade. Here is the account by Roger de Hoveden of Joanna’s introduction to her new life in Sicily. It had been a rough trip for her; she’d been escorted into Poitou by her eldest brother Hal, and then Richard escorted her all the way to St Gilles, where she was turned over to the Sicilian envoys. On the voyage, she’d suffered so severely from seasickness that the fleet had to hand at Naples and continue on land. But she was given a magnificent welcome into Palermo.
“The whole city welcomed them, and lamps, so many and so large, were lighted up, that the city almost seemed to be on fire…for it was by night that they entered the city of Palermo. The said daughter of the King of England was then escorted, mounted on one of the king’s horses, and resplendent with regal garments, to a certain palace, that there she might in becoming state await the day of her marriage and coronation.
After the expiration of a few days, the before-named daughter of the King of England was married to William, King of Sicily, and solemnly crowned at Palermo, in the royal chapel there, in the presence of Gilles, Bishop of Evreux and the envoys of the King of England.”
That same day William issued a charter in Joanna’s favor, providing generously for her dowry, describing her as “the maiden Joanna, of royal blood, and the most illustrious daughter of Henry, the mighty king of the English, to the end that her fidelity and chaste affection may produce the blessings of the married state.”

And on February 13, 1542, silly little Catherine Howard became yet another victim of her husband’s monstrous ego. When Henry VIII discovered that she’d had a colorful past prior to their marriage, he was so outraged that he pushed a bill of attainder through Parliament making it treason for an “unchaste” woman to marry the king, then sent Catherine to the Tower, where she was beheaded on this date. In the past, we’ve talked of Jane Grey, who paid with her life for her family’s all-consuming ambition. So did Catherine Howard, although she had none of Jane’s intelligence or education, which makes her pathetic story all the sadder. Marriage to the aging, ailing, hot-tempered Henry was more than punishment enough for any sins of her feckless youth. Despite the legend, though, she did not say that she died the Queen of England but would rather have died the wife of Thomas Culpepper. Those about to be executed in Tudor England did not make defiant gallows speeches, wanting to spare their family from royal retribution. But Catherine really did ask for the block to be brought to her the night before her execution; she wanted to practice kneeling and putting her head upon it so she would be sure to do it correctly come the morning. How pitiful is that?

Tewsesbury Abbey holds back the tides

A friend from the UK sent me these remarkable photos of Tewkesbury Abbey in this week’s flood and in floods in years past. It looks like an island in an endless sea, and yet the flood waters have never entered the abbey itself, which seems somewhat miraculous to me. I love Tewkesbury, the abbey and the town, and always stopped there on my way into Wales. The scene in Sunne in which Lancastrian soldiers have taken refuge in the church after the battle is one of my favorites. I remember standing in the shadows and envisioning Edward riding his destrier right up to the great double doors…..long before I actually wrote about it. Tewkesbury is one of those places where the past seems very close at hand. As many of you already know, England and Wales suffered more flooding…..so many places I loved, like Ludlow and Shrewsbury and York and almost all of Wales. My heart breaks for the people who’ve lost so much; the aftermath of a flood can be almost as bad as the flood itself.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...

On storms, Lionheart, and the deaths of kings, dukes, and one of those treacherous Stanleys

My friends and readers in the UK must feel as if they’re trapped in Groundhog Day with Bill Murray, for just as last weekend saw them hammered by Storm Ciara, this weekend it is Storm Dennis, bringing high winds and heavy rains to many of the same areas that were flooded just a week ago. Please stay safe and dry in what looks to be another wretched weekend.

I mentioned a few days ago that Lionheart is available in its ebook edition for only $1.99. I am happy now to report that the bargain price will remain in effect on all on-line book sites for another week, till the 23rd. Now, onto Today in Medieval History. I am a few days late with this entry, but it’s worth waiting for; I picked a very busy date to chat about.

February 10th was the date of death of two dukes, a king, one of those treacherous Stanleys, and the worst king-consort ever. Only two of them—maybe two and a half—were worth mourning.
On February 10, 1126, William, the ninth Duke of Aquitaine, also known as the first troubadour duke, died after a long and eventful life. He had a keen sense of humor so he may have been amused that today he is mainly remembered as the grandfather of our Eleanor. But he also had a healthy ego, so maybe not. I would have grieved for him—unless I was one of his wives!

On February 10, 1134, Robert, the Duke of Normandy died after being held prisoner by his not-so-loving younger brother, Henry I, for twenty-eight years. Robert seems to have been a feckless sort, certainly no match for the ruthlessness of Brother Henry, but he probably didn’t deserve nearly three decades of captivity.

On February 10, 1163, Baldwin III, King of Jerusalem, died. He was only in his 33rd year and by all accounts was a very good king, an adroit politician, and a courageous battle commander. He also seems to have been a genuine good guy, charming, affable, and handsome. His death dramatically changed the history of the Holy Land, for he’d not yet had children with his beautiful bride, the seventeen-year-old Byzantine princess, Theodora, and so the crown passed to his younger brother Amalric, the Count of Jaffa. Amalric had none of Baldwin’s charisma, being taciturn and introverted. He proved to be a capable king, though, but he, too, died prematurely, leaving a thirteen-year-old son as his heir, the boy who would tragically become known to history as the Leper king. Had Baldwin not died so young or had Amalric lived long enough for his queen, also a Byzantine princess, to give him another son, the kingdom’s doomed march to Armageddon might not have happened. There is no doubt that Saladin is one of history’s more fascinating figures, a brilliant politician, but his great victory at Hattin was based in part upon the disunity among his Christian foes, just as the first crusaders took advantage of Saracen discord to carve out the kingdom of Outremer eighty-some years earlier. Baldwin III does not appear as a character in my new novel, being dead by the time the book opens, but Amalric makes a few appearances before dying of dysentery and his son is a major character, of course. Had I lived then, I would definitely have mourned Baldwin.

On February 10, 1495, William, Lord Stanley, was executed by Henry Tudor, accused of treason, irony at its best. Party time!

Lastly, on February 10, 1567, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, was messily murdered, a death that was richly deserved. One of my favorite scenes from the wonderful film, Mary, Queen of Scots, had Elizabeth (the incomparable Glenda Jackson) and Cecil practically falling on the floor laughing upon learning that Mary had been foolish enough to take the bait and marry Darnley.